Drop-bottom shipping container



y 1930. K. FILDES 1,760,305

DROP BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 Sheets-Sheet l l5 fieder If mm,

W ATTORNEYS.

May 27, 1930. F. K. FIL,DES 1,760,305 O DROP BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER Original Filed Nov. 22, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES TTORNEYS.

Patented May 2' 7, 1930 PATENT OFFICE I FRWERIOK K. FILZDES, 01? ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA DROP-BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER Application. filed November 22, 1928, Serial No. 321,147. Renewed February 28, 1980.

- My invention, while relating generally to drop-bottom containers, has particular relation to shipping containers adapted for use on freight cars, motor trucks or other ve- 5 hicles for the transportation of bulk freight, such as coal, bricks, grain, ore, or the like.

Such containers are customarily made of a size so that a number of them situated side by side in either double or single rows are m conveniently accommodated on the floor of a railroad freight car, and they are usually handled by means of cranes or like hoisting appliances which shift themfrom one platform to another or position them for dump- Y- One object of my invention is to provide more eflicient means for locking and releasing the bottom doors so as to enab ethe operator to quickly discharge the contents of the container. More specifically my invention is characterized by a locking and releasin device for the bottom doors so designed an situated that it does not interfere with or obstruct the discharge of the container contents,

and in this respect my invention constitutes a marked improvement over the use of chains or other gear in the path ofthe contents falling from the container.

A further object of my invention is to iso-' late the means for locking and releasing the bottom doors and the areas around the joints of the container from the container contents to guard against any interruption of the operation of either the top or bottom doors. Stillanother object of my invention is to providea rigid container capabale of withstanding rough handling yet maintaining tight and waterproof joints so that it is impervious to rain or snow, and'leakage of its 40 contents is reduced to a minimum. Other important objects and novel features characterizing my invention will be a parent from the drawings and the vdetaile description which follows, in which I have illustrated a typical embodiment of the invention, and

whereof Fi I shows a front view of the container part y in section; I

. Fig. II shows a detailed front view of the bottom door locking and releasing gear;

Fig. III shows a sectional view of the same taken along the lines III-III of Fig. II; and

Fig. IV shows a sectional view of the same taken along the lines IV-IV of Figs. II and III.

With particular reference to Fig. I, the con- V tainer which is of rectangular shape, is shown comprehensively designated by the numeral 1. Its dimensions are such that when positioned side by side with a certain number of other similar containers, for example in double rows, the lot of containers substan-' tially occupies the platform ofa freight car.

The container 1 comprisesside walls 2, top doors 3 and bottom doors 4 and 5. At or near the four cornersat the top of the container are suitable rings or eyes 6 adapted to be engaged by hooks carried at the ends of chains or cables suspended from the hook of a crane utilized for shifting the containers to and I from the platform of a freight car or other vehicle. The top doors 3 are hinged as indicated at 7, and to guard against the admission of rain or snow to the interior of the container I rivet Z-bars 8 to the top of the walls 2 and angle bars 9 to the top doors 3, thus providing. a waterproof joint around the hinges 7. Furthermore, the meeting edges of the top doors 3 are preferably sealed by the construction shown in Fig. I, in which one door is over-- lapped by the other so as to shed rain or snow from the top of the container At the bottom of the container the bottom door hinges 10 are isolated from the contents of the container by the member 11 riveted to the side walls 2, and forming with angle bars 12 on the doors 4 and5 a. housing which prevents any accumulation of granular or other material around the hinges which might interfere with their roper operation, and

which also acts as a 0 ate aiding in the discharge of the contents of the container clear of the door hinges. The door 4 is of a different construction from the door 5 and is so desi ed that it is held in closed position by the. atter door, as will be apparent from the drawings.

The bottom door locking and releasing gear I shown in detail in Figs. II, III'and IV consists of two sets of mechanism, counterparts of each other, and situated one on each side of the container. On each side there is a pivoted latch in the form of a hook 13 fulcrumed'at 14 which engages a pin 15 on the bottom door 5. Each hook 13 carries a lug 16 cooperating with a slot 22 in the end of a vertical shaft 17. The shaft 17 is linked at 23 to a connecting rod 24 extending upward through the top of the container 1. At its upper extremity the connecting rod 24 is linked to a 'bell crank lever 25 operated by a handle 18. The bell crank lever 25 is rigidly attached to a horizontal shaft 26 which extends across the top of the container to a similar lever forming a part of the door locking and releasing gear on the other side of the container which is of similar construction to that described with the exception that only one operating handle 18 need be employed.

It will be obvious that when the handle 18 is in the position shown the bottom doors 4:, 5 are held in closed position by virtue of the engagement of the hooks 13 with the pins 15 whereas when the handle 18 is swung over to a position opposite that shown, the shafts 17 will carrying the lugs 16 upward and disengage the hooks 13 releasing the doors 4:, 5 and the contents of the container. While I have described a pair of locking and releasing devices for the bottom doors located at opposite sides of the container, it will be apparent that in some types of containers only one such device need be employed.

Vertical channels 20 at the sides of the container house the connecting rods 24 and isolate them from the contents of the container. These channels 20 merge at their lower ends with casings 21 which house the shafts 17 and the hooks 13. The casings 21 cooperate with flanges 27 on the bottom doors 4 and 5 to completely isolate the locking and releasing gear from the contents of the container. By the provision of a hood 28 extending centrally across the top of the container, the horizontal shaft 26 is protected from injury in loading the container.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Assuming that the container has been filled and has been transported to its destination and that the contents are ready to be discharged, by means of chains or cables suspended from a crane to engage the eyes 6, the container is hoisted and shifted from the freight car platform to a point above the body of a motor truck into which the material is to be discharged. A man standing on the top of the container and guiding it operates the lever 18 at the proper moment to disengage the hooks 13 from the pins 15 on the bottom door 5, and the doors 4 and 5 immediately swing open emptying the contents of the container into the truck. With the doors 4 and 5 still open, the container is shifted by the crane back to the freight car and lowered gradually in such manner that when the doors Land 5 come in contact with the platform of auxiliary apparatus or gear other than those parts which form an integral part of the container as built need be employed. By eliminating the use of chains or cables which are apt to obstruct the passage of such materials as bricks or coal from a container and which, when in the path of the discharging contents, are subject to severe wear, my invention constitutesa notable advance over the means heretofore employed to operate the bottom doors of containers of this char acter. y While I have described my invention in some detail and have referred to the best form of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention and that certain fea-\ tures thereof may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features. 1 i

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: I i

1. In a drop-bottom shipping container, a pair of hinged bottom doors, one adapted-to be held in closed position by the other, means for locking and releasing said latter'bottom door, said means being operable from the top of the container. a

2. In a drop-bottom shipping container adapted to be emptied from a suspended pe- I sition, a pair of hinged bottom doors, one

adapted to be held in closed position by the other, locking means for engaging and releasing said latter bottom door, a shaft for operating said locking means, and means at the top of the container for actuating said shaft.

3. In a drop-bottom shipping container adapted to be emptied from a suspended position, a pair of hinged bottom doors, one adapted to be held in closed position by the other, locking means within said container for engaging and releasing said latter bottom door, a shaft for operating said locking means to engage or release said bottom door, and a lever outside of'the container to operate said shaft.

4. In a drop-bottom shipping container, a

hinged bottom door, locking means foren gaging and releasing said door, said. locking means being completely housed in a casin at the side of the container whereby the ow bottom door, a

' rod on said shaft, and a lever at the top of the container for operating said shaft through said connecting rod.

6. In a drop-bottom shipping container, a hinged bottom door, locking means for engaging and releasing said door, a shaft for operating said locking means, a connecting rod on said shaft, a lever at the top of the container for operating said shaft through said connecting rod, and a casing on a wall of the container for housing said lockin means, shaft, and connecting rod to perm1t unobstructed flow of material from the container when the bottom door is opened. I

7 In a drop-bottom container, a pair of hinged bottom doors, apair of locking devices on opposite sides and at the bottom of the container adapted to engage and release said doors, means extending vertically to the to of the container for operating each of sai locking devices, a horizontal shaft cross-connecting said vertically extending means, and

a lever outside and above the container for 7 operating said horizontal shaft.

8. In a drop-bottom shipping container, a air of hinged bottom doors, locking means or engaging and releasing said doors, a vertical shaft for operating said locking means, said locking means and shaft being completely housed in a casing at the side of the container, and a housing around the bottom door hinges whereby the contents of the container are isolated from its moving parts.

9. In a drop-bottom container, a hinged pivoted latch, for engaging and releasing said door, said latch having a lug thereon, a slotted shaft adapted to engage said In within its slotted portion to operate sai latch, and means operable from the top of the container for actuating said shaft.

10. In a drop-bottom container, a hinged bottom door, a pivoted latch for engaging and releasing said door, said latch having a lug thereon, a slotted shaft extending upward through the container and adapted to engage said lug within its slotted ortion to operate said latch, and a lever at t e top of the container for actuatin said shaft.

In testimony w ereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Altoona, Pennsylvania, this 20th day of November, 1928.

FREDERICK K. FILDES. 

